Each year, enough new characters are introduced on The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl that they could seemingly populate an entirely new series in The CW's Arrow-verse. To be expected, the 2018-2019 seasons are no exception, and this year's San Diego Comic-Con unleashed a slew of new heroes, new villains, and new twists on familiar characters.
Here, we've accounted for all the new characters that are confirmed to be joining the Arrow-verse this year, and we're marking down everything we know about them. (Which, to be fair, isn't very much in some cases.) So without further a-Diggle, let's kick things off with the new and old faces we'll see in Central City.
Cicada
Sticking with the speedster-lite tactic that gave us Season 4's The Thinker, The Flash is bringing a comic book villain to Season 5 who presents a wholly different kind of danger to Barry Allen & Co., and he'll go by the name Cicada. First seen from behind when the Season 5 trailer debuted at Comic-Con, TV's Cicada isn't going to be the strictest adaptation of the comic villain, who was granted the power of soul-sucking quasi-immortality by a bolt of lightning. Showrunner Todd Helbing took a minute during The Flash's SDCC panel to tease what what fans can expect to see.
That is Cicada and it'll be played by Chris Klein... We always take these villains from the comics and put 'em through the Flash blender for our show and so we did that this year. He's not so much a cult leader but his powers sort of present a challenge for Team Flash that they've never had to deal with before.
Given his American Pie franchise creds, Chris Klein is perhaps the most recognizable of the actors to take over as a major Flash villain. (Except for Grant Gustin himself as Season 3's Savitar, but that reveal took forever, so it barely counts.) It should be interesting to see the comedy-oriented actor as someone as evil as Cicada, whose comic iteration had him leading a cult of followers who aimed to murder anyone The Flash had ever saved, with the weapon of choice being daggers shaped like the lightning that gave both Barry and Cicada their powers. At least the trailer seemed to confirm the show is remaining faithful to that element.
Sherloque Wells
Nobody does "different Earth versions of the same identity" in the Arrow-verse like Tom Cavanagh, who has already portrayed a round table's worth of Harrison Wells iterations. From the split identity of Season 1's O.G. Wells to Andrew Dice Wells to the late H.R. and beyond, it's been a wild ride. And with Season 5, we're getting a brand new doppel-Cavanagh who goes by the name Sherloque Wells. And here's how the star himself described things to CinemaBlend and others during press roundtables at Comic-Con.
So this year, we've got a lot of things that we have to solve, and I thought it'd be nice to have a dynamic where we have someone that we don't necessarily know that we can trust, but is undeniably brilliant. Which offers up its own things that you have to contend with when you deal with somebody like that. Because much like The Thinker last year, they're a few steps ahead. So we'll see that very early on with this character. We've got some backstory set up, which I don't want to spoil for you, but I think that character's going to be fodder for comedy, but also for good storytelling hopefully. So I'm looking forward to doing it.
Tom Cavanagh noted that Thawne Wells locked in the "badness," that Harry brought in the "bit of a jerk" quality, and that H.R. was seen as the humor-driven "polar opposite of Harry." And it sounds like Sherloque Wells will be a mixed bag of qualities from those previous incarnations. Cavanagh as a snooty (and potentially British) detective is already a concept ripe for comedy, and it's always good narrative fodder when a major character's honesty is put under the microscope. What are the chances he "accidentally" keeps referring to Cicada as "Moriarty?"
Now that we've wrapped up the newcomers to The Flash in Season 5, let's head on over to the new faces who will pop up on Arrow Season 7! New showrunner Beth Schwartz is keeping a tight lid on spoilers for the upcoming season, but we know some details.
The Longbow Hunters
The threat of these bad guys was actually introduced back in Arrow's Season 6 finale, when Anatoly took a break from delivering some of the dark episode's minor comic relief to exposit that Ricardo Diaz had recruited the help of "Longbow Hunters." Oliver recognized the name, explaining to his pals that the Longbow Hunters were once three assassins that even the League of Assassins feared, but the last was killed in the 1950s. Oliver will be proved very wrong when Season 7 kicks off and the Longbow Hunters premiere in the flesh. New Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz touched on the debut of these new villains at San Diego Comic-Con, saying this:
Yes, we're super excited by it. They were mentioned in the finale of Season 6 and we have three Longbow Hunters coming, working with Diaz. And we've got Red Dart, we have Kodiak, and we have the Silencer.
Unfortunately for Arrow fans dying for more information, Beth Schwartz was not dealing big spoilers at SDCC this year. The good news is that we at least know the actors who will play these three assassins, and none of them are old enough that they can play characters who were scaring the pants off the League of Assassins in the 50s.
Red Dart
The character of Red Dart is currently shrouded in mystery, although The Wrap reports that she'll be played by Holly Elissa, who is known for roles on Whistler, Fringe, and Supernatural. The Arrow version of Red Dart will be "ruthless" and "precise" as a killer. In DC Comics lore, there were actually two villains who went by the name "Red Dart," and the one to be adapted for Arrow will clearly be the New 52 character from the DC reboot. The comics character fights with a number of trick darts and teamed up with Brick and Killer Moth after being brought together by Richard Dragon. The goal was to collect a bounty on Green Arrow and split it between them. The connection between Red Dart and Ricardo Diaz will apparently follow the comics, but her teammates on Arrow will be very different.
Kodiak
Michael Jonsson, who can be seen in episodes of Van Helsing, The 100, and Supernatural, will tackle the role of Kodiak, and it's clear just by the look of him that he's not somebody anybody wants to be tackled by. On Arrow, he'll be a "beast of a man" who assaults his victims with brute force rather than tricks or powers. Not a whole lot is known about the background of the DC Comics New 52 character of the same name, but he is a formidable foe thanks to his agility and stamina. He's also handy with a shield.
Silencer
As you might expect of a character going by the name "Silencer," this will be one stealthy villain, played by Miranda Edwards of The Magicians, Orphan Black, and yes, Supernatural. In DC Comics, the character was a retired assassin who was previously a high-ranking member of the League of Assassins thanks to her power to silence all sounds around her, thus allowing her to do whatever she wanted to whoever she wanted without alerting victims to her presence via sound. While many fans may have welcomed Silencer using her ability in the Arrow bunker during one of Team Arrow's more ridiculous arguments in Season 6, she'll probably be quite a thorn in the good guys' side when the show returns.
Unnamed SCPD Recruit
If you thought we were kidding about Arrow keeping a tight lid on Season 7 details, the fact that we're now down to unnamed characters should convince you. A new recruit to the Star City Police Department will appear in Season 7 and become a problem for the remnants of Team Arrow. Young and passionately anti-vigilante, she'll have ambitions to rise in the SCPD, and that could mean hunting vigilante crime-fighters. Well, at least she can't catch Oliver! The new Green Arrow (who may or may not be Roy), on the other hand, may not be so lucky.
Unnamed Tech Genius
And here we have Unnamed Character #2! This newcomer will be a gay tech whiz who has found no shortage of success, but hasn't lived a carefree life. A heartbreaking past is concealed behind all the success and smarts. Could this tech genius come into play as part of Felicity and/or Curtis' efforts to launch a company? The role will be recurring, so at least this character will be around more than once.
Now that we've tackled Arrow, let's head to Legends of Tomorrow to learn what changes are coming to the Waverider!
Not to be outdone by any of the solo shows, the Legends of Tomorrow ensemble will get its own new additions in Season 4. We sadly still don't quite know what kind of big antagonist is coming with all the supernatural elements that popped through the portal that got opened up in Season 3's finale. But along with time-period specific cameos for the likes of Paul Revere and Jimi Hendrix, here is the trio of regular and recurring characters we'll see in Season 4.
Charlie
By the time Season 3 came to its Beebo-filled ending, with Mallus finally defeated, Maisie Richardson-Sellers' Amaya decided to hand in her Legends badge and travel back to keep the peace as Vixen in her proper point in the timeline. But Richardson-Sellers wasn't set to leave the cast, so it was only natural for Legends of Tomorrow to use her in a different capacity. In Season 4, she'll play someone named Charlie. Here's how the actress described the new character during the Legends of Tomorrow panel at Comic-Con.
Well, so Amaya has finally made it back home and this season I'm going to be playing a new character called Charlie, who is one of the magical fugitives who slips through and she is British. She is a rebel without a cause, she's a trickster, she's on her own mission and the Legends stumble upon her and have to decide whether she is friend or foe. She's on a journey of self-discovery. She doesn't know who she is, she's been locked up for as long as she can remember and she's going to really shake the ship up again.
It's quite interesting that Legends will introduce Charlie not as an Amaya from another Earth (at least at first) but as a mysterious being freed from an entirely different dimension of reality, where she has probably seen and heard some pretty outlandish and demented beasts and occurrences. My guess is that she'll pair up quite well with John Constantine, who is well-versed in all things demented. But will her true identity be something more recognizable than just the name Charlie? I hope so.
Alaska Yu
While we can probably expect to see a new official member of Team Legends revealed as the season goes on, showrunner Phil Klemmer and his creative team are also adding to the ranks of the Time Bureau. Which leads to the introduction of one Alaska Yu, to be played by Blockers and Z Nation actress Ramona Young. Klemmer revealed Alaska's existence during the show's Comic-Con panel, saying this:
We're bringing on a performer named Ramona Young, who's going to be playing a new person who works at the Time Bureau. We're kind of expanding the world of the Bureau now that Ava and Sara are so romantically connected. She's going to start out as sort of a person who works a Postmates and brings sandwiches to Gary, and gradually find a way to include her in a world of magical beasts and fantastical monsters, the world that they live in this season.
Who said starting small never got anyone anywhere? Alaska and Gary's relationship must evolve pretty quickly, for things to go from food delivery to monster-tracking with the Time Bureau. Or maybe she'll be bringing the sustenance for a meal Sara and Ava are having, and overhears them talking about their exploits. Let's hope the one-liner game is strong with Alaska, and that she has the mental wherewithal needed to cope with resurrected team leaders, time-travel, and mythical creatures come to life.
Adult Hank Heywood
Legends of Tomorrow has made multiple references to Nate's father Hank in Seasons 2 and 3, going so far as to bring in a teenage version of Hank for the episode "Moonshot." Well, the adult version will finally come around to do some 'splainin' about what he's been up to for all these years. And the casting department truly nailed it with this one, with Back to the Future franchise star Tom Wilson getting mixed up with a completely different mix of time-traveling protagonists. During the Legends Comic-Con panel, executive producer Keto Shimizu described how Hank will get introduced, and how he'll mesh with Nate:
In terms of building up the world of the Time Bureau, we're also going to be having characters shift in different directions, like Nate. We'll be moving a little bit more in the real world where you haven't been around the last couple of years. He'll be reconnecting with a father who he's been estranged from during that time. He also had a very distant relationship throughout his childhood and then adulthood. The man that we're having come play this pivotal role for this season is no stranger to time travel. He and his son have a contentious relationship, so much so that he might Nate he needs to 'make like a tree and get out of here.'
Tom Wilson is one of the greatest movie bully-villains of all time -- well, Biff is, technically, but you know what I mean -- and has put together many other memorable performances throughout his career. It'll be great to see how Legends of Tomorrow will pay respects to Back to the Future with Hank, while also delivering the emotional beats expected from a story about estranged parents and children. If we don't hear "Johnny Be Good" at some point in Season 4, I'll eat a sports almanac.
Now, time to leave Earth-1 behind and head to Earth-38 to check in on the newcomers to Supergirl!
The Arrow-verse shows on Earth-1 aren't the only ones introducing a bunch of good guys and bad guys. Supergirl will go in some new directions for the next season, and some characters will force change. Some of that change will be positive while other change will undoubtedly be negative. Let's start with one of the good new characters!
Nia Nal
A new superhero is joining the Supergirl team in the form of Nia Nal, a.k.a. Dreamer. She'll be the first transgender hero on television, and she'll actually get a start not entirely unlike Kara back in the early days of the show. Actress Nicole Maines landed the exciting role, and she spoke about her character at the Supergirl panel at San Diego Comic-Con, saying this:
Nia is a new reporter at CatCo. She's worked for Cat Grant in Washington DC and has now been sent to National City and she's taken under Kara's wing to be taught in the ways of reporting and hopefully superhero-ing. Am I using that term correctly? Superheroism. That's it. And she is so wide-eyed, she is very happy to be there, she's happy to be included. She's so pure, she has this ferocious drive to protect people and to fight against discrimination and hatred. She's the superhero we need right now.
This new character will come in with a connection to the absent Cat Grant, who has been working as Press Secretary for President Lynda Carter -- that is, President Olivia Marsdin -- in Washington D.C. Kara will likely already want to take Nia under her wing due to the connection to her old mentor, and it sounds like Nia will bring some of the innocently sunny optimism that Kara has lost over the years. She could be the perfect addition to the show that may get much darker in Season 4. Speaking of which, we have...
Agent Liberty
Although his name makes him sound like somebody who would totally fit with Kara "Truth, Justice, and the American way" Danvers, Agent Liberty is not somebody who any of the good guys will be able to count as a friend in Season 4. Played by Sam Witwer of Smallville fame, Agent Liberty will lead a hate group dedicated to promoting a humans-first way of life on Earth, which means bad things for aliens like Kara, J'onn J'onzz, and potentially even the President of the United States. Katie McGrath, who plays Lena Luthor on Supergirl, had this to say at San Diego Comic-Con about why Agent Liberty is a great villain:
We have Sam, who is obviously Agent Liberty. What's really clever about the show this year is instead of choosing this otherworldly, amazing alien superpower to be our villain, we've got a human. The scariest people in the world right now are smart, articulate, evil humans. And so rather than have an alien as the big bad, that's what we've chosen, and I think that's something people can relate to nowadays.
The trailer gives the impression that Agent Liberty could do as much damage with his inciting words as some of the more violent villains in seasons past. Hopefully Nia will be able to lend a hand to Kara and Co. when dealing with this new threat!
Colonel Haley
April Parker-Jones of If Loving You Is Wrong and The Last Ship landed the role of military woman Colonel Haley. This character is devoted to the military and has the utmost respect for the chain of command, operating on what her superior officers ask of her. It sounds like Haley could turn out to be a key ally to Kara and Co. in Season 3... as long as Kara and Co.'s interests align with those of Haley's commanding offers. April Parker-Jones is on board as a regular for Season 4, so you should see a fair amount of her.
Manchester Black
DC Comics fans may know the name "Manchester Black," as there's a memorable character of the same name in DC lore. Supergirl's Manchester Black won't be a carbon copy of his comic counterpart. Played by David Ajala of Falling Water and Jupiter Ascending, Manchester Black brings a violent mission that requires a certain degree of ruthlessness. He tries to hide his darkness with humor and charm, and he is able to escape seemingly impossible situations as the victor. David Ajala will recur throughout Season 4, so we can count on Manchester Black in more than just a standalone episoe.
Mercy And Otis Graves
An iconic comic character is coming to Supergirl. Mercy Graves is known in DC lore for her role as Lex Luthor's longtime bodyguard. Lex has been locked up in prison from the very beginning of Supergirl, with his only appearance coming via flashback. Mercy will play a different role on the show. With Rhona Mitra of The Strain and The Last Ship bringing her to life on the small screen, Supergirl's Mercy will be a former CADMUS agent whose belief in human exceptionalism is longstanding. Without either Lex or Lillian Luthor to guard, Mercy becomes a prime figure in the human-first moment in National City, which likely means that she'll be an ally to Agent Liberty.
Mercy will be joined by her brother Otis, played by Robert Baker of Grey's Anatomy and Santa Clarita Diet. Otis isn't the sharpest tool in the box, but he's an expert in assassinating aliens. Unlike Mercy, Otis is not a character to appear in DC Comics. Mercy will likely be the major player of the two siblings. Still, the good guys and aliens of National City won't want to turn their back on Otis.
Vice President Baker
Supergirl is bringing in an icon of sci-fi to play the Vice President of the United States. Brent Spiner, best known for his work as Data in the Star Trek franchise, signed on to place VP Baker on a recurring basis in Season 4. Baker is considered an unlikely leader, although he has political savvy and intelligence to spare. He'll need to rise to the occasion and step up as a leader.
What's not clear at this time is what happened to President Marsdin that Baker must suddenly take a more active role in the government. Could Agent Liberty and Mercy Graves figure out that President Marsdin is actually an alien? Or will Marsdin's staunch beliefs about the importance of alien equality on Earth lose her supporters in certain demographics? We'll have to wait and see.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in superhero TV news. For what you need to know to tune in to the Arrow-verse shows in the not-too-distant future, take a look at The CW's fall TV premiere schedule. For some non-superhero options, swing by our fall TV guide.
